What's your most unusual possession?

[supernova]

What's the strangest thing you have? Did you find it somewhere, inherit it? What's the story on your unusual possession.

(No, Oscar doesn't count; he's alive silly)

I'll add mine later...

[Deja Q]

1. Up the... wait, you said "possession". I need new glasses.

:hide:

[supernova]

2. What did you think I meant?

:D

[Dinger]

3. I Have A Towel That Billy Ray Cyrus Gave Me in 1992

I was floored! And he was a complete gentleman.

[supernova]

6. I think that's the first time

I've heard about him being a gentleman. Well, I'll be. :-) Is it displayed somewhere in your house?

[Dinger]

11. My 12-Year Old Niece, And Sis Were With Me, And

my niece was stunned, couldn't seem to talk, and he asked her if he could shake her hand. She was so shy, and her face lit up, and it made her day. I saw him in the bus, and it happened to be where there were no other people, and he stopped the bus to talk to us crazy women. My sis asked him out, and wanted his shirt, but that we didn't get. I gotta say, he was so dammned handsome, it was unbelievable. Gives me an idea for a post . . .

[Ariana Celeste]

4. I have a peacock feather :)

Only unusual because no one I know has one. It's in protective plastic. My ex b/f gave it to me a few years ago, because it was special to him. Unfortunately, I don't remember why. :)

I also have a cool lawn gnome that I keep on my dvd shelf.

[supernova]

8. Gorgeous!

I love peacock feathers. They are so beautiful. It's great to keep those little things around that remind you of old flames.

[Ariana Celeste]

94. I do too

and I agree, I'm fortunate that I managed to keep a couple things from past relationships- they ended bad, but the little things remind me of the good times

[Shine]

66. I have a lot of peacock feathers. They are beautiful.

I was lucky because a gf of mine had peacocks on her property and thus had access to many of them. I actually have a little "bouquet" of them in our bedroom. Ooo la la!

:hi:

[Ariana Celeste]

90. thats so cool!

and they certainly are beautiful, that's for sure. nothing else like them

:hi:

[supernova]

95. If I didn't have neighbors

I think I'd keep peacocks and peahens. They are very mellow birds, except for that unearthly LOUD call.

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. I still have original post-its from amazon when they first started

and added amazon.com post it notes to all their orders.

[supernova]

12. I bet

they have some small collector's value now.

Will you keep them for 50 years until Amazon is as big as IBM?

[djeseru]

7. Ash from the original blast of Mt. St. Helens.

Plus, an assortment of moths and butterflies.

[supernova]

13. Wow! How did you get that?

I'd be afraid to collect it myself. :scared:

[djeseru]

24. A gentleman's sister had a roof load of it.

He sold me the packet he kept along with some other paper/ephemera a few years ago. I was in northern California at the time of the eruption but didn't get anywhere near the volcano. I would like to go see it someday though...

[yvr girl]

198. I had a garbage bag full of it at one time

Sort of got caught in the fallout.

I'm sure my parents threw it out when they sold the house. Oh, well...

[Rabrrrrrr]

15. I have a cup of that ash, too!

[GOPisEvil]

17. I have some of that ash, too.

But it's in a souvenir pen a friend sent me. :D

[djeseru]

25. I guess having a little ash...

...isn't as uncommon as I thought. :D

[GOPisEvil]

31. Well, there was quite a lot of it.

:D

[supernova]

36. So everybody's had a lotta pieces of ash

except me?

[GOPisEvil]

37. Hehehehehehehehe!

:evilgrin:

[supernova]

42. It's this 2nd glass of wine!

;-)

[GOPisEvil]

45. Darned grapes!

It's a conspiracy!

[supernova]

46. It's a shame about grapes!

Evil little bastards.

[GOPisEvil]

49. Why do grapes hate us?

:P

[supernova]

57. They're plotting

to take over the world. I just know it! x(

[GOPisEvil]

58. If they ever get opposable thumbs, we're doomed!

Rampaging grapes!!!! Scary! :scared:

[supernova]

64. The United States of Welches

[yellowdogmi]

129. Sounds like a great (grape) B movie

They take over the winery. Mash themselves on feet. Help me out here.

[Fox Mulder]

43. I have ash from Mt. St. Helens also...

but that's because I used to be a geologist.

[yellowdogmi]

128. I also have a packet of that ash.

neat.

[supernova]

167. Most popular

Looks like Mt St Helens ash takes the prize as most popular unusual Lounge possession.

[MissB]

176. I have a vial of that too.

The damned ash landed everywhere when St. Helens blew.

[Ikonoklast]

9. I have an intricately machined piece of

beryllium that was used as part of the internal guidance system for a nuclear missile.

Use it for a paperweight.

[supernova]

14. That's cool

where did you get it? It's not often you open up a nuclear warhead.

[Ikonoklast]

21. A friend of mine gave it to me

He said it was an obsolete model and never was used, from the mid-to-late sixties. His Dad was an engineer that owned some patents.

Amazingly light, feels like a piece of ceramic.

Also slightly naturally radioactive.

[supernova]

28. Sounds beautiful

Does it glow in the dark? ;-)

[Ikonoklast]

67. No, but in other forms

it is extraordinarily toxic.

[hunter]

162. I have a chunk of exotic top secret military hardware too.

It's electronic and very, very cold war. It probably cost our government a few hundred thousand dollars to make.

Now it's only junk an ex-girlfriend gave me. I'll be dead and my grandchildren will be pissed off they have so much weird crap to sort through.

[ismnotwasm]

10. A "devil mask"

From Sri Lanka. Got it at a yard sale. I guess it's purpose is to scare off devils during some ceremony. It's kind of cool, actually. I also have an old wood toilet--the part that would be the water tank--They used to be above the actual toilet and you'd pull a string to flush I guess. I use it as a planter.

[supernova]

16. Is it one of those

shadow puppets similar to what they have in Indonesia?

I know the kind of tanks you mean, but the ones I've seen have been porcelain, not wood. That's different.

[Oeditpus Rex]

18. Mmmm... my Rev. Billy's Healing Prayer Rug?

Really just a silk-screened hankie, and too big for my scanner even if it was working.

It has an outline of a hand on it. The thumb is to heal Poor Muscle/Fat Ratio. The first finger is for Mental Turmoil, the second for Sexual Dysfunction, the third for Trendy Fashion Urges, the fourth for Idleness and Sloth and the fifth for Bad Hair.

(Yup — that was six.)

He autographed it, too: "To Dave — Tee-fockin'-ha! ~Rev Billy"

[Kali]

32. Excellent

back when the local community station was really good they played him a lot - they had a GREAT comedy show on Sunday night and the host always played something from him.

[Oeditpus Rex]

35. He's insane

Certi-fuckin'-fiably. :thumbsup:

He plays the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz about once a year. I've seen him... three times, I think.

[Shine]

72. Kuumbwa. Is. Awesome.

I've seen many many many great artists there. We are soooo lucky.
:)

[Oeditpus Rex]

104. Yeah, I love that room

It's just the right size for an intimate show, and there's always camaraderie in the lines for the door and the bathrooms. Plus, a lot of performers walk back to the bar and you can just go up and talk to 'em.

Parking's another story, though. :eyes:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

19. A six-foot wooden airplane propeller.

It's leaning in the corner of my living room. And a life-size rubber boa constrictor (coiled in front of the TV), a Kleenex box in the shape of an Easter Island statue (the Kleenex sticks out the nose), a Balinese flying cat hanging from the ceiling, a jaguar-god from Chichen Itza, and a Magic 8-Ball that's at least 35 years old.

[Robb]

20. In my basement, pieces of an SR-71 Blackbird

For those who haven't stumbled across the story (annoying ads, I'm a cheap bastard), I'm darned proud of them. :)

[ScreamingMeemie]

22. I have a GB Packer crockpot, a life sized cut out of Brett Favre and

a piece of quartz rock cut from Crazy Horse. :hi:

[supernova]

51. Now, A GB Packers crockpot

just suits you, MrsGrumpy. :rofl:

You mean the Crazy Horse monument?

[ScreamingMeemie]

78. Yes, my grandpa brought it back for me just before he died.

It sits on my counter...the rock that is, not the crockpot.;)

[Rabrrrrrr]

77. LOL! When I read this post's subject line I thought "Is that MrsGrumpy?"

And by golly, it was!

For some reason "GB Packer crockpot" made me immediately think of you.

[ScreamingMeemie]

82. Ha! It truly screamed my name as I walked by. Many a delicious

lil smokey has wallowed in BBQ sauce there...;) :hi:

[ET Awful]

23. I have a set of 3 talking drums from Mali

Talking drums are an hourglass shaped drum with a head at either end that is laced loosely by running leather laces from one end to the other and back again. When held under the arm, the narrow portion of the hourglass is nestled right under your armpit, you can apply pressure with your upper arm to vary the pitch of the drum.

It's a VERY cool sound :P

[Shine]

74. I LOVE African talking drums!!

you're right, they've got a VERY cool sound. I LOVE African music. :loveya:

[GOPisEvil]

26. A copy of this Navy Recruiting poster.

[supernova]

55. You're gonna join the WAVES?

:shrug:

[GOPisEvil]

56. After I get back from "the operation".

So, uh, no. I just liked the poster. :D

[supernova]

68. I'm just joking.

:D It is a cool poster.

[TheBaldyMan]

76. it's a WWI poster, before women could vote or join the USN

beuatiful poster though :)

[GOPisEvil]

86. I wish I had an original, but alas, this is a copy.

You are correct about the time period and other details as well.

[greatauntoftriplets]

27. I have a leftover piece of the black granite....

that was used on the Vietnam Memorial Wall. It sits on this desk, an arm's reach away from me.

[supernova]

53. Classy

I think that's the most beautiful granite I've ever seen, too.

How did you get it, if you don't mind my asking?

[greatauntoftriplets]

54. Someone was trying to make time with me...

And he had some of the granite. No, he didn't get what he wanted.

[supernova]

59. Fair trade!

His granite for your :thumbsdown: :rofl:

I like you, greatauntoftriplets. :pals:

[greatauntoftriplets]

62. Among other things.....

there was his wedding ring. That didn't stop me from accepting the granite, though.

[supernova]

71. Ewww,

and he thought a piece of funereal black granite would seal the deal? Talk about clueless. :D

[greatauntoftriplets]

73. I knew another woman he pulled the same thing on.

It was bidness. So I was polite. And accepted the gift, which tickled me enormously.

[Ikonoklast]

75. Looks like you got rocks off him.....

without him getting his rocks off.:evilgrin:

[Flying Dream Blues]

117. I'm glad he didn't take you for granite.

(I actually saw this expression written this way once, and wondered: WTH do they think this means?) Anyway, have been wanting to use it ever since. :)

[northzax]

29. a West Point Crew Jersey

won it off a Cadet in a race. Oh, if we're really being technical about it, I suppose my 16th century strong-box ranks up there as well.

although there are duplicates of those, I suppose. So I guess I'll go with the picture of my grandfather on the sailboat he won the intercollegiate title on at Harvard. He was by far the least famous of the three man crew- but then, given that the Captain was killed on a suiicide mission in WWII, and the first mate (also the Captain's little brother) was killed in Dallas, I guess that makes sense.

[StaggerLee]

154. Holy cow Northzax!

I'm just now reading your post and I can't believe that no one has commented on it!

Priceless.

:hi:

[northzax]

172. it may be that no one has deciphered the code

or taken the time to figure it out...New England was a small place back then.

[Ikonoklast]

209. The brother that was in the Navy in WWII

And skippered PT 109 sent an autographed a picture of himself to my Dad after he sent him $5 towards his first U.S. Senate campaign.

It says, "To Dennis S. XXXXXX, my very best wishes. John F. Kennedy."

[northzax]

214. that's awesome

imagine a time when a senate candidate (who was self financed, really) would sent a signed photo for such a small contribution (what, about $100 in today's dollars max?)

[fudge stripe cookays]

30. A hand-drawn picture I did...

of the band "The Church" from their portraits on the back of the album cover for "Remote Luxury."

When they came to Dallas in 1986, I got them all to sign it.

Marty Willson Piper....swoon.........:loveya:

[supernova]

34. I'm jealous!

I would love to have that. They are still in heavy rotation in my MP3 list. :loveya:

You're such an artiste. :-)

[fudge stripe cookays]

135. Fanks!

"Constant in Opal" and "Myrrh" -- great driving songs!

I did another drawing of ABBA when I was 12 (oviously not of as high a quality), and sent it to their HQ. Bastard Swedes never sent me anything.

At least I got a "Wow! Thot's REALLY grite!" from Marty.

fsc

[LeftyMom]

33. My great-grandmother's engraved thimble.

It's got to be a hundered years old, my grandmother gave it to me a year or so before she died and she didn't really remember because her mother died when she was small. I got it because I'm the only one in the family who still sews, so grandma knew I'd appreciate it. As a nice added bonus, she had the same first initial as I do, but the neatest thing about it is how it's really not round and finger-shaped from 100 years of wear and body warmth.

I have a little antique mending kit to go with it too, but it's newer, I think my grandmother got it as a wedding present in the 30's.

[supernova]

39. What a lovely story, LeftyMom

I love stuff like this. The best thing is rememebering that person when you work with it.

[Gormy Cuss]

48. What a cool heirloom

I have my grandmother's cast iron skillet from the 1930s. She bought it at a discount because the handle had a defect (a chip.) It passed to me for the same reason --I was the grandchild who stuck it out using the old fashioned cast iron when everyone else was switching to Teflon.

[Shine]

80. Wow, that's really special.

Love, from your ancestors...

:hug:

[BrotherBuzz]

38. A joystick from an unknown military plane

"there's a use for anything if you wait long enough."

[politicat]

40. I have a piece of tile off the belly of the Atlantis space shuttle.

They get replaced every trip, and Dad had access to some Naval personnel at Kennedy/Canaveral.

I also have some handkerchiefs that have been to space.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

41. A piece of Miocene turtle coprolite

Holy shit!

[Kali]

83. I'm wierd enough to be jealous of that!

Way cool.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

132. You can buy specimens online...

We got ours from a gem and mineral show. I think it cost less than $10, but I might be mistaken. Just Google "coprolite".

[nytemare]

44. A piece of Hitler's garage.

There was a US Army hotel in Bertchesgaden, about a quarter mile from where Hitler's house once stood. When I was there, all that was left was part of a garage or shack, covered in snow. I grabbed a chunk, and it sits in my display case as a symbol of the dangers of fascism.

People given certain motivations are very similar, no matter where they are from. There is a scapegoat to blame, and to cause fear, that motivates us to surrender freedoms. It is amazing how many Americans now shrug off the similarities between mid 1930's Germany, and us now. I am hoping, with all these new scandals on the administration and Neocons in general, that should steer us off of this course.

[HEyHEY]

112. Ha! I have a piece of his brain!

[donheld]

156. "Ha! I have a piece of his brain!" - Yea we elected him pResident

:banghead:

[nytemare]

163. LOL. Is the formaldehyde keeping it?

You could sell it to Bush for a big profit.

:D

[EstimatedProphet]

47. Colored sand from a Tibetan mandala

I watched some monks build it in the Sackler Gallery in the Smithsonian. It was a 'healing mandala' constructed to heal the events of 9/11.

[Shine]

85. That sounds very cool, EP

It's really amazing what those monks can create. I love the powerful teaching it is, regarding the ephemeral nature of our lives. They put all this energy and time into creating a masterpiece, only to sweep it away and not be attached to it...

Food for thought, eh?
:)

[EstimatedProphet]

105. Yes indeed

They constructed it over a period of a week, in shifts, aroubnd the clock. At the end of the week, the had a blessing ceremony of a few hours of chants, then they swept it up and poured it into the Potomac.

I can still hear the chants in my head, after almost 3 years. I'll take that memory with me forever.

[Shine]

109. Nice. Sounds like a wonderful and magical memory, indeed.

We're just passin' through....
:)

[Fox Mulder]

50. 1.5 billion year old glacial till.

From the Gowganda Formation in Ontario, Canada.

Also, I have a 3 billion year old piece of banded iron formation from Jasper Knob in Ishpeming, MI.

I'll bet very few people have these items. :)

[Shine]

87. Cool, Fox!

I named my son Jasper. Great name. :thumbsup: Great stone.

[eyepaddle]

114. I'm not sure of the age,

but I have a chunk of marble from Marble Point Station Antarctica. (No, it was not technically inside the Dry Valleys, and is not a ventifax so I think it was all cool.

I keep it in the freezer.

[anarch]

52. a didgeridoo

or however the hell it's spelled. I guess that really isn't that unusual.

[Kali]

63. What is it made from?

There is a guy in Tucson who makes them from agave stalks - pretty cool.

[anarch]

79. I'm really not sure

It was a gift, along with a footstool that seems to be made out of the same kind of wood. It's sort of a soft wood. I don't think it's authentic or anything...probably from Hong Kong rather than from Australia. It is fun to try to play, though. Emphasis on "try".

[u4ic]

70. Can you play it?

The most eerie, bizarre and wonderful sounds come out of that instrument.

[anarch]

81. poorly. Very poorly.

It's still really fun! :D

[Shine]

60. I have many many magical and unique things, it's hard to choose

Many years ago, I went to a huge ceremony, with over 100 people, where everyone was invited to bring some water from wherever they were from, geographically. Mind you, people were there from all over the place, and we each put our own little bit of water into a big container, in the center of the circle. These "waters of the world" blended together and symbolically connected us all. Afterwards, we were all invited to take a bit of the sacred waters back home with us, as a reminder of the connection we share. It was quite beautiful and very moving. I still have my special container of the waters of the world.

I don't know if that qualifies as "strange", per se, but it's definitely unique.

[SeattleGirl]

61. Piece of coal from the Titanic

[DanCa]

122. *cry* I thought you'd say my heart.

:hug:

[kedrys]

65. Matrioshka nesting dolls

that my uncle brought me back from Russia when I was about 5 or 6. I don't know if that's strange, but I don't know anyone else who has them.

[cmd]

97. I have a set

I bought them at the City Center in Columbus many years ago. A store that had Russian crafts was going out of business. Right now they are on display in our powder room.

[Kali]

101. I have a bunch of sets - but my parents went to Russia a bunch of

times and now my father is married to their former translator!

[johnnie]

69. Ok

I have a lock of hair from the haircut Elvis got before his 68 television show..lol.

Here's what happened. I have a friend who knew Elvis back in the day. I was down in Memphis one year and it was during the August celebration thingie. That month just happens to be my birthday and i was sitting my room drinking a few beers watching the tube when there was a knock on the door. At the door was this friend of mine and another friend that the woman I know hangs out with. They had a bunch of stuff with them and they come in telling me "happy birthday" and all that shit. They had a few gifts with them so I opened them and one was a really cool choker necklace with a small silver canister on it. It was really cool and I said "Thank you". She told me to open it and inside was the hair. She explained where she got it and thought I would like to have some..lol.

I'm not the kind of person to go out and get locks of hair, but it was given to me as a present and that was pretty cool.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

115. DNA! You could clone him!

Now THAT should be worth some money! :)

[Rabrrrrrr]

84. Oh, I also have a piece of the Berlin Wall

brought to me by my aunt who went there right after the wall came down, and picked some pieces up for the family.

[Shine]

91. THAT's cool, Rabrrrrrr

What a great, symbolic reminder of the call to Freedom and Unity.

[supernova]

103. I'm jealous again!

I've always wanted a piece of the Berlin Wall. It was still intact in 1984 when I saw it.

[blockhead]

192. cool...

I have a small piece of the wall also

[Redstone]

88. A specimen book from Barnhart Brothers, showing their

"Superior Copper-Mixed Type," from 1904. It's not just a catalog of printer's type; it's a fascinating window into the society of those days.

One of my neighbors gave it to me when she moved away, because she knows that I have a professional interest in typography (it's part of what I do for a living). When I did some research and found that the book is worth about eight hundred dollars, I begged her to take it back, but she refused.

I'm taking damn good care of that book. I even put on the cotton gloves when I read it.

Redstone

[obxhead]

89. A chunk of petrified wood from AZ.

[qnr]

92. Hmmm... well, I have a piece of a tire that Coast Guard One blew

when flying the Commandant into Lamezia Terme in southern Italy. (it actually blew more than one, but I only have one piece).

[cmd]

93. A rock with a pre-historic foot print in it

My step-mom found it in the Buffalo River in Arkansas. Mr. cmd doesn't think it is a footprint, but I do.

[supernova]

100. Intriguing

Have you had it looked at by a professional?

[cmd]

138. No, do you have suggestions? n/t

[u4ic]

96. Two:

one is a rock from the Frank Slide (a bit of Canadian history many don't know about): http://www.crowsnestpass.com/Tourism/historic/frankslide.html

You can see the area that the debris covers:


Another is a shoe from a racehorse; a friend who knows the owners sent me it. The horse has won or placed in a number of stakes races, and earned well over a million dollars.

[supernova]

98. I have a Japanese doorway banner

it's blue with a frog painted on it in white paint. I believe it's supposed to be lucky or something. I forget what you call them.

I really like it. I wish I had room to put it up.

An MD friend of my Mom's from Duke liked to travel a lot and brought it back to her.

[Kali]

99. Oh man, I have some really unusual things...

a 64 corvair lakewood station wagon, a pachinko machine, an egyptian saddle I freaked out and had to order off of e-bay last year, this really cool piece of butcher paper from some meat we bought in Turkey in '02 - it has pictures of cows, sheep and chickens with the respective pix of meats and says DENiZ ET in a red and blue pattern. Its on a kitchen cupbord door. If you walked around my house and weren't just overwhelmed by all the crap everywere you would think I robbed some strange museum.


(this list sounds like an old Tubes song ...and a baby's arm holding an apple...what do you want from life?)

[supernova]

102. I have to ask

I understand about the corvair; people collect classic cars.
Egyptian saddle.... OK.
Pachinko machine, sounds like an arcade game....

But why are you keeping the used butcher paper? :shrug: Is it just the writing and illustrations?

[Kali]

111. erm, eclectic home decor?

it was just so cool - I love ordinary things from places I visit - as oposed to the tourist type souvineers (well, I like some of those too, but just going into grocery stores or markets where the regular people get stuff is so fun - you should see the junk in my bathroom!)

here are a couple "flat" items in my kitchen:

[Zookeeper]

125. I'm glad I don't own a pachinko machine...

I played it years ago and found it totally addictive!

BTW, I'd forgotten about that great Tubes song. From what I remember, it hasn't lost any of it's timeliness.

[bicentennial_baby]

145. you have a pachinko machine!?!

i want! i want! :bounce:

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

106. A nice little glass tobacco pipe that says "Maui"

My stepdad bought it for me at the Hemp Store in Paia, Maui. Apparently, the store is co-owned by Woody Harrelson and the mayor of the town.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

107. My Fro. As A Kid I Was Called Froman and Wegro. Thickkkkk Hair that

was completely unmanageable. It was famous in its own right. When I came home one day and my mother and brother had brought clippers solely for me, and forced me to have them cut it, I put it in a ziploc bag. Still got it. It's my frobag...

[Gold Metal Flake]

108. This is a fun thread, but...

like Kali I can't settle on one thing. I have a really unusual old Universal ribbon microphone that is styled to look like a skyscraper (and a few other antique mics), a few very early radios, promotional coins with pennies in them from my grandfather's bakery from the 1940s, Bertoia Bird chair & ottoman, a couple of early Oahu guitar amps, an interesting 1940s snow globe with a cowboy holding a platic ring lasso and a cow that you lasso with the lasso I can't stop tying lasso.

I have a two real props from Max Headroom and some scripts and the full set of shows on 1" video tape from when I worked on the show.

I used to have more unusual audio & hifi and guitar and stuff but it's gone.


And I totally understand the butcher paper. It's cool!

[radwriter0555]

134. hmmm, I worked on max headroom too.... do

we know each other?

I was the writer's assistant.. worked in the production office.

[spacelady]

110. I have three. Which is the coolest?

1. 1968 Buick Riviera - my first car, been driving it since age 15, I will be 44 in Feb.

2. Spectravision Radio Sunglasses in original case 1950's sunglasses with built-in transistor radio in the earpiece with attached earphone plugin.

3. Space Knob, unknown object that looks like a burned-up console knob but seems to be made of stone. Drives cats crazy. Found snorkeling off Shell Island near Tampa.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

133. #3

It must have come off one of the Chariots of the Gods! :D

[HEyHEY]

113. A bunch of old pop bottles

I collected skin diving..not much, but that's what I got

[driver8]

116. I have a letter signed by Cecil B. DeMille. I found it in a box at

Warner Bros. (where I work) that was about to go into the trash. The letter is on "Ten Commandments" letterhead.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

118. A piece ot the Bounty, the ship used in the filming of

Mutiny On The Bounty with Marlon Brando and also featured in the film Treasure Island. I was touring the ship at a time when they were restoring a portion of the hull and a small chunk of it came flying through the air and landed at my feet. It is now in my jewelry box.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

119. I have two...

One is a ceramic duck taking flight. At his feet is a screen of cat-tails that serves nicely as a place to put your spare change, roach clips, or whatever. The thing is backlit by a forty watt bulb.

The other is what appears to be a piece of hand-carved, African-American folk art of a woman balancing a basket on her head. My niece, years ago, made a crepe-paper Ohio State cheerleaders uniform for her, and she now has a place of honor on my entertainment center.

One more (you can tell I collect crap like this). It's a small ceramic ashtray in the shape of a blue whale (not a Blue Whale, but a whale that's colored blue). You put the cigarette in its mouth, and the smoke from the cigarette comes out the blow hole. I love it!

[XemaSab]

120. My mostly illegal skull collection

The legal items being a sheep, a deer, a coyote, a cow, a skunk, and a weasel, all of which I found birding.

I also have a coffee table (made by a friend of mine for me) made from a typesetting tray I found LYING BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD in Arcata, CA. Score! :woohoo:

[trackfan]

121. I own the moon!

[DanCa]

123. Senator Durbin gave me the donkey and flag pin off his lapel

I met him at the pan forum last year. It was late in the day and my meds were wearring off so I was beginning to shake pretty bad. The senator gave me the pins off his lapel and said that I deserve them more than he does. I know that there only probably three dollar pieces of jewlery but I still think of my most prized possession.

[enigmatic]

124. a pair of 5 inch tall Shriner figurines from the 1950's

I got at a garage sale for 5 bucks; I've got them sitting on top of my Zenith Transoceanic radio..

[Zookeeper]

126. A 20+ year old RAW egg, that Edie, the Egg Lady....

autographed for me. Does anyone remember Edie? She was featured in early John Waters films, most famously in "Pink Flamingos."

I own a fair number of odd things, but that has to be the most unusual. And probably the one I will most regret owning if it ever gets broken. :nuke:

[Kali]

153. Oh wow, man

that is something even I would call unusual!

[GalleryGod]

127. ASHTRAYS from Saloons that no longer exist

The Stork Club, Copacabanna, and TootS Shor


My first wife, Ursula & I used to go out often in the city that never sleeps !:toast:

[A-Schwarzenegger]

130. Well, that's hardly fair, now, is it.

One person out of 80,000 excluded just because I'm
lucky. I do have a 28-year-old Rolodex that I still use,
however.

[Ally McLesbian]

131. Autograph

Mariah Carey, November 21, 1994, obtained in person in NYC.

She's on a comeback these days so the autograph is special again. :)

[stlsaxman]

136. 2 grams of soil from John Lennon's estate house in UK from the '60's...

given as a door prize at a "Beatles Party" i attended in the late '80's.

She had gotten the dirt from his yard when in UK as a teenager. It's in a crystalline vile labeled "John Lennon's backyard 1966".

I've taken it to every peace rally I've attended and will continue to do so.... :)

[LynneSin]

137. I have the first land survey drawing my father ever did

Just got it framed and hung it.

Not sure who owns the property but it's something to treasure!

[El Fuego]

139. Trilobite fossils.

[rug]

140. A yellow and black fallout shelter sign.

[AKPacker]

141. A Fleetwood Mac

ticket stub that has been in my wallet since I saw them perform "Rumors" at the Omni in Atlanta on June 1, 1977.

[Mutley]

142. I have a steel penny from 1943.

http://www.usmintquarters.com/steelcents.htm

I got it as change from the 7-11 one day. It was the weirdest thing. I couldn't believe someone had just spent it like a normal penny. It's not in the greatest condition, but hopefully I can polish or something one day.

[skygazer]

143. I have a Chinese jade opium pipe

I got this notice in the mail one day that I had a package - its place of origin was listed as "Shanghai, China." I don't know anyone in China.

So I went to the post office and picked it up and it was this beautiful little object, in a honey colored jade with pretty silver filigree work - obviously an opium pipe. No note, the name and address nobody I recognized.

However, I recognized the mind of my best buddy behind it - he'd contacted a friend who had a friend who had a friend in Shanghai and arranged to have it sent to me because I'd admired a similar piece of jade that he had (about a year before which I'd forgotten all about). It was a very cool surprise. Very pretty thing.

[seemunkee]

144. Whales tooth given to me by my grandfather, 50 cal machine gun

shell that was from the gun my father manned in the navy, a flip book from 1919 with Charlie Chaplin on one side and Gertie the dinosaur on the other.

[Trigger Hippie]

146. A tuft of buffalo hair.

I picked it up at Teddy Roosevelt National Park in South Dakota (off the ground, not off an actual buffalo).

[flamingyouth]

147. I have a lot of really weird stuff.

A theremin, loads of very old books, a Lladro porcelain "hippie" dog playing bongos and wearing a medallion, the list goes on. People like to look around my house. :D

[Fenris]

217. A statue of Mao in his swimming outfit!

[Catchawave]

148. From my gas grill.....a small lava rock

that was removed from my dachshund's stomach. Probably more valuable than a moon rock...$800 surgery. Saving her life....priceless :)

[kay1864]

149. Let's see now...

Autographed picture of St. Francis of Assisi (I answered the quiz during the play "Nunsense". It says "Best wishes, Love Francis" What a nice guy)

Notepad and book of matches from the Playboy Mansion (went to a few parties there)

Three Star Trek phasers and a communicator (from when I was a REAL SF geek)

Agent Zero-M attache case from about 1966

Soma cube (remember those?)

Medical cauterizer from around 1910 (my first wife is a doctor, and she didn't want it when we split up)

[NoPasaran]

150. A harpoon

We lived in the Azores in the 1960s when they were still whaling from little open whaleboats. The Homeland Security thug who comes to arrest me is in for a big surprise!

[MadHound]

151. Oh man, I'm such a pack rat, and have so much unusual shit

I don't even know where to begin. Let's start outside

A '49 Desoto Deluxe four door, the perfect gangster's car, black, oval rear window, suicide rear doors. A 1951 Chevy three quarter ton truck, with an old Powers utility bed.

Old hand crank phone, an old Three Deuces pinball machine, a pachinko machine, Spanish sword and dagger from the 1850s, a Phillipino dagger from the 19th century, a Phillipino throwing axe, same time period, many old radios, many old lighters(including one that is now illegal, it produces fire when you breath on it), an antique microphone, the kind with the element suspended in the center by springs, and geez, a ton more of things too numerous to go into here.

[jane_pippin]

152. A hand made collectors plate of Ernie K-Doe, famous for the song

Mother in Law and for being the self-proclaimed Emperor of the World, among other things.

http://www.k-doe.com/lounge.shtml

It was made by his wife, Antoinette K-Doe, who ran the lounge dedicated to him. It features a photo of him, lovingly glued to the center of the plate, and his name and birth/death years painted on it was well. The lounge was in New Orleans, but I don't know if it or his wife survived Katrina. I don't have a pic handy, however.

[ucmike]

155. "NO PARKING TRANSIT STRIKE -Order of NYPD" sign

from the nyc transit strike that didn't happen a couple years ago. i grabbed it off of a light pole on madison ave.

also, a "Behavior Emergency" card from a mostly abandoned phone company building. it probably dates to teh 60's or early 70's. they had these 5x7" flip-books in the hallways about every 50' or so. in the event of an emergency you were supposed to run to the book and look up the problem at hand. the cards were removable, so you could take it with you to the scene of the emergency. most were useful things, like heart attacks, burns, electrocution. i was waiting for an elevator and flipping through when i found "Behavior Emergency" and swiped it. its on the wall in my kitchen.

i laugh when i imagine frank from accounting is freaking out in the office and someone is standing there with this card in their hand, waiting for security and comforting frank.

in case anyone needs the steps for such an event:

BEHAVIOR EMERGENCY
-Discreetly call Security Guard at ---------
-Speak Calmly, acknowledge victim's feelings-
"I can see how upset you are"
"This must be awful for you"
-Provide privacy and eleminate irritations in enviroment
-DO NOT:
-Make sudden moves
-approach victim unless he invites it
-touch or argue with the victim.

[bicentennial_baby]

157. a piece of Mount Vesuvius

brought back by my Latin teacher in HS.

[Strong Atheist]

158. A picture taken from the inner lip of Vesuvius,

looking straight down the inside... taken on a class field trip to Italy when I was 16... very dangerous; the ground was a lot of loose rocks, quite a slope too... I would not do that these days... done w/out equipment; normal clothing...

[Strong Atheist]

159. I also have a petrified clam shell

that I got on the outer banks. We had to briefly stop for car trouble, there were a million of the things that were made of a gray rock, but in addition to getting many of those, I found ONE made all of nice quartz... I am saving that one ...

[Strong Atheist]

160. ... also have a Katana Wakizashi set given to my grandmother

from the emperor during the occupation. My grandfather was stationed there, and she taught royal kids (cousins and such, I think.) They have the official imperial markings on them

[seaglass]

161. I have a McDonald's cocaine spoon. Remember when their

coffee stirrers had the little spoon at the end and everyone was using them to snort coke so they discontinued them? I still have one (and no I didn't use it for coke).

[ccjlld]

164. My Great-grandparents marriage certificate

dated January 27th, 1903. One of those old fancy ones. Also have the large portraits they had done for their wedding.

[Reverend_Smitty]

165. a WWII era bomb sight

http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Dictionary/NORDEN_BOMBSIGHT/DI145.htm
It looks just like this one. It belonged to my grandfather and I have no idea where he got it from considering he spent the war in California as a clerk

[Lisa]

166. Klein bottle (made by a glassblower in Berkeley, California)

It was given to me by an astrophysicist ex-boyfriend.

After we broke up, I gave his stuff back to him except for that (and a couple of inscribed books).


I guess the runner-up would be a weird-looking paperweight made from vaseline glass (tinted with uranium oxide, and it really does fluoresce under UV light!). Tied with it, maybe the two-handed sword "Blackbird's Lament", made by Jake Powning, a swordsmith in New Brunswick.

[Lisa]

191. pic (of the sword, not the bottle, unfortunately)

There is actually only the one sword -- the smith did a bit of trick photography, to show it from different sides.

[bearfan454]

168. I have a rattlesnake that is embedded in plastic

It's a big one too.

[khashka]

169. My Dad's teeth?

A human skull?

My ex wife's hair?

Jeez, I don't know!


Khash.

[Odin2005]

170. A small chunk of granite from near Granite Falls, MN.

From one of the oldest rock formations in the world at 3.6 billion years old.

[UncleSepp]

171. A letter from the brother of Joseph Goebbels to his sister

talking about what a screwup one of the other brothers were, and how Mom came to visit and talked everyone's ear off, how maybe Joseph would have some time to deal with it after the elections were over, and a very odd rant about who bought pants for the Brownshirts from what dealer, and for how much.

[Zookeeper]

175. Wow! Where did you get that??? n/t

[UncleSepp]

187. eBay. Can you believe it?

There was a whole box of letters, most of them to Hans Goebbels or his wife, but there was also this one letter that appeared to have been stuck in the box and never mailed. I'm tempted to write to the return addresses on the envelopes and see if any of the family of the recipients still live in the same places, to send the letters back to the family of the writers. These are so fascinating, but they're someone else's family heirlooms, not mine.

[Zookeeper]

188. So, I'm guessing you read German pretty well...?

I'll bet those are very interesting to read, even without the historical connection. Even if you couldn't locate the family, I'd bet some German historical society would be interested in them.

[UncleSepp]

194. I read German well, and the old script doesn't bother me

Hans had terrible handwriting as well, which made reading the unsent letter interesting.

There were other letters that were much much easier to read, mostly the ones from women. One letter from the February before the end of the war was heartwrenching, about walking through the woods, trying to get some peace, looking for signs that spring would come and everything would be all right again. Another letter to Hans's wife was hilarious, from a woman who had been relocated to the country from the city due to danger from air attack. She was describing the random set of people she found herself living with in a very catty way, including one woman who was (to translate roughly) "a bitchy, butch old battle axe". There were even a few pictures stuck in the envelopes. I would love to be able to return those photos.

I have another weird possession from eBay as well. I bought a 35mm hand turned film projector from a guy in northern Germany. He sent it along with some small reels of film. I didn't trust the old film to the hand turned projector, and just visually inspected it. All the reels had a sound band. I had the film transferred to videotape. One turned out to be a few minutes of documentary footage of Phillipine soldiers training, another a few minutes of newsreel footage of Goebbels' trip to Athens.

Another reel was of an extraordinary few minutes of Hitler giving an address at what looked like the "Valhalla" monument in southeastern Germany talking about environmental conservation and giving the land back to the people. That piece is interesting for the subject matter - it isn't what we ever get to hear Hitler talking about, but it was part of the message, and it attracted followers. Also, it's a head-twister for those who associate conservation, national parks, public ownership of wilderness areas, and so on with the left. It ain't necessarily so.

The last reel is a few minutes of what looks like raw, unedited footage of an official state funeral. I can't tell whose funeral it was, as the footage is mostly focused on the uniformed people in attendance. The camera flits from shot to shot, and much of what it captures is candid. It's really funny to see that raw footage, when most of what we ever get to see is the heavily edited material of perfect rows of mechanical soldiers. It's very different to see a Brownshirt scratching his butt and people looking around not being sure what they're supposed to be doing.

[Zookeeper]

203. Thanks so much for taking the time to share that with us!

All of it is really interesting. I think what you have is quite important. I wonder how much candid film of the Nazis would have survived in post-war Germany. It seems like the kind of thing Germans would have been VERY eager to get rid of.

Have you talked with any historians or universities about what you have?

[Pacifist Patriot]

173. A 100 year old quilt made out of grain sacks.

My great-grandmother made quilts out of scraps from old house dresses. The back of the quilt was made out of old 100-lb grain sacks. You can still faintly see the stamping on it. The front and back have three generations of spit up stains on them from the babies in our family being placed on it on the ground to play. The pattern is a basic one and the color scheme is not remotely uniform. Unfortunately it's practically flat and has sections where the stitching has come out. I dare not bring it out of the closet and only used it once with my oldest son when he was a baby. So the last spit up stains on it are mine and my twin sister's.

I bring it out whenever I'm sick, feeling melancholy or have a chance to read in an empty house with a cup of tea by my side. It makes me feel connected to my ancestresses. I can imagine them wearing their shapeless cotton housedresses while doing their chores in a tiny Florida town before air conditioning.

[Zookeeper]

178. I have some of my G-grandmother's quilts, also....

as well as some made by a beloved G-Aunt. They are pretty fragile, mainly because they were well used. I surrendered to my "quilting genes" about ten years ago, so I feel like I know enough to repair them...and will, one of these days.

Most of them are scrap quilts and I've always loved looking at all of the different patterns.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

174. I don't have just one weird thing

I have a weird life.

Yep, that's it... my entire weird life.

[Orsino]

177. A hand-crafted lute...

...built for me to play in a college Shakespeare production (guess which).

[Maine Mary]

179. I enjoy socilology, anthropology, modern &ancient history,

:-)

[Maine Mary]

180. Never mind the above, LOL!..... A WWII Japanese Sword;

And an early 18-something "Halltree" neither have been appraised. I found them (hiding -tucked away) in the attic of our house which we bought in 1997.

[SaveElmer]

181. About 50 old flat irons...

Weigh from 5 to 15 pounds each

[Maestro]

182. An ancient Incan broche

I worked with a Bolivian woman for a while. She brought it to me as a present. Her father was the cultural minister in the government there about 8 years ago.

[hickman1937]

183. A book called From the Manger to the Cross.

By some guy named Fleetwood. My friend Ron found it in a house he was renovating. Think it's time to gift it to someone. I used to have a plastic vagina but I was stupid enough to take it to a white elephant party in the 80's. Wish I had that back.

[Ptah]

184. An anvil I made from a piece of rail. n/t

[Lisa]

190. train or streetcar?

I have one made from the latter (by someone else), but I imagine that standard-size train rail would be a lot bigger (and harder to cut, probably?).

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

185. A Montagnard crossbow and arrows

from the time my father was in Vietnam. He was in the Air Force flying small reconnaissance planes between Special Forces camps and picked one up and brought it back.

[UncleSepp]

196. Wow! I would love to hear the stories attached to that.

I am so fascinated with that specific time, place, and operation. I wish I knew more about it, about how the Special Forces men worked with Montagnard soldiers. Does your father tell stories about it, or does he prefer not to talk about it? Would you be willing to share (and would he be willing for you to share) stories?

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

201. Unfortunately my father died three years ago

My father was a B-17 copilot in World War II and was shot down over Germany and imprisoned. He had bad dreams most of his life about it and didn't like to talk about his war experiences very much, whether World War II or Vietnam. He was also very troubled about having killed a German civilian while a POW. He was being transported on a train with several badly wounded US pilots from the prison hospital to the POW camp Stalag Luft III. On the way, a train conductor, a civilian, was using a cane to prod the wounds of wounded American soldiers to torture them and he was making vile remarks about them in English. My father used one of his crutches to push the man out of an open door while the train was running at high speed. After that, he had great regrets that he had not been able to control his anger. He only was able to tell that story once.

My father flew again with the Air Force in Vietnam. He didn't like talking about that war either, but he did tell me about once being stranded over night in a Special Forces camp with only a few Green Berets and a montagnard force. The Viet Cong had surrounded the base and were about to attack. The Special Forces sargent threw an M-16 at my father and told him he was drafted into the army for the night. There was only sporadic gunfire throughout the night and my Dad flew out the next morning. I think he might have picked up the crossbow that night, but he never told me the full story. I know he regularly visited these camps, for reconnaissance purposes.

Here's a photo of my dad in World War II, just days before his B-17 was shot down. He's on the extreme right. My dad was a lifelong Democrat, as are his two brothers, one of whom lost an eye in WWII in North Africa and the other who saw heavy action as a Marine in the Pacific with pieces of shrapnel still lodged in his body.

[kskiska]

220. Amazing! MY father was a B-17 copilot and was shot down

over Augsburg, Germany in 1943 and imprisoned at Stalag Luft 1. He had a hole right through his right hand from flak, but the Germans did a terrific job fixing it, and he has full use of the hand. He remained imprisoned for 13 months (during which time I was born) until the camp was liberated by the Russians. I have a piece of brick from the camp, obtained from a girl I met online whose father was imprisoned in the same barracks as my dad. She'd visited the camp a few years ago and picked up the fragments.

My dad is 85 now and still hangs out at a local airport almost every day with a few war buddies. He remained in the Reserves until the 1960s.

[REP]

186. A Cremated Cat and a Bag of My Own Teeth

Pete is on my windowsill and I have most of my extracted teeth, except for my wisdom teeth.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

189. an elephant foot

when my grand dads elephant died they kept his foot *dont ask why...i dont know

antlers


and ivory tusks *also from same elephant


these things are all at home in india..thankfully...rather creepy

[NV Whino]

193. A carousel horse

A mannequin named Thelma (I didn't have room for Louise).
A piece of stained glass from the Glasgow Cathedral (they were replacing some of the original broken windows).
A World War II altimeter (It's always nice to know how high you are).

Lots of interesting rocks from lots of interesting places.

[supernova]

195. Keep 'em coming!

I love reading about all these weird, wondeful, things.

And thanks for making this my most popular thread ever! B-)

[Bunny]

197. I have a small wooden box that is made of ebony. It's about

4" x 6", has a small piece of ivory inlaid in the lid, and it's lined with purple velvet.

The former Mr. Bunny got it for me in 1978 while he was in the Peace Corp in Ghana.

[TimeChaser]

199. A wolf's vertebra

I've also got lots of little anime figures, but among my geeky friends, that's not so unusual.

[TheCentepedeShoes]

200. A Texas and Southwestern

Cattle Raisers Assn sign. Dented and rusty. Hangs on the DR wall.

[trof]

202. An autographed photo from Charles Lindburgh.

"To trof, who taught me everything I know about flying."

[weeble_wobble]

204. A business card signed by Phil Bergen

former Captain of the Prison Guards on Alcatraz.

[yellowdogintexas]

205. a big red Nazi Banner with a swastika smack inthe middle of it,

a German Bayonet, and some WWII German Paratrooper pants, all stuff my dad acquired during the war.

More weird rocks than you can shake a stick at due to my husband being a geologist and collecting unusual rocks where ever he goes.

a carved log which actually belongs to my husband that he found in Hong Kong when he was in the Navy and a velvet painting of an old man with a fighting cock he bought in the Phillipines as a gift for his dad. I don't like the velvet painting at all but that is the way it goes....

An amazing trophy won by our daughter in a Halloween costume contest at the Hip Pocket Theatre in Fort Worth..it has all kinds of weird stuff on it, hand made by a local artist just for the HIP

an old quilt which was made in a quilting circle by my husband's great grandmother and a number of other women: their names are stitched into the quilt.

pink crepe paper toilet paper from Spain

a cherry table made from trees on the farm in Kentucky by my great great grandfather.

[GOPFighter]

206. I don't have possessions, I have Junk!

Two Pepsi bottles from Libya, an old light bulb from the Edison era (with the glass peak at the top), some mint 1951 Bowman's baseball cards, 980 steel pennies (1943), um, and the toenail from my big toe that came off when I kicked a fence too hard (back in my days of rage).

[struggle4progress]

207. I used to have a nice hat that said "Hey! Let's twist with Joey Dee!"

but I can't find it now ... :(

[begin_within]

208. Soap that contains Mt. St. Helens ash. Also vial of air from stratosphere.

[MiwSher]

210. A lifesize elephant puppet

Technically, it belongs to my s.o. He's a puppeteer and has a puppet circus with 21 lifesize animal puppets (like mascot suits). He drove out to British Columbia, where he's from, and came back with the elephant secured to the roof of our van. I wish I could've been along to see the reaction it got. There was one time we were at one of the local malls and over the P.A. system came this announcement:
"Would the owner of the white van, license plate blah, blah and the elephant on top please see security." My first reaction was to find the nearest and deepest hole to dive into. LOL!

Btw, we were paged because someone thought we were parked illegally but we weren't. Whew!

MiwSher

[AtomicKitten]

211. giant cut-outs of Beavis and Butt-Head n/t

[regnaD kciN]

212. A M*A*S*H relic...

Specifically, a strip of khaki cloth from the "camoflauge" at the helipad.

Grabbed off the Malibu Canyon set during a hike up there before the final season.

It might be the last surviving piece of that set. Before they could finish filming the last episode, a brush fire destroyed the place (which is why, for no dramatic reason, the finale has them "bugging out" to avoid a fire, so that the last scenes of the series take place in an explicitly different locale where they supposedly moved the hospital).

[NV Whino]

215. I used to live "just over the fence"

from that set--at Malibu Lakeside. Got thrown out of the lot many a time.

[Z_I_Peevey]

213. A walking stick, handmade and hand painted,

used ceremonially to rid a space of bad spirits. It's beautiful and protects my front door. A nice Choctaw lady made it.

[bertha katzenengel]

216. A ball that Nolan Ryan pitched. Rangers v. Angels, Sept. 1989

fouled off by Chili Davis.

[madrchsod]

218. a little green bag

that has a star and a commie sickle imprinted on it...it was a Lebanese brown hashish bag

[MANative]

219. From JFK's Inauguration -

a "No Parking" sign used to line the parade route. Contains the dates and "Presidential Inauguration". My dad was in the Army, and his unit marched in the Inaugural parade - I was only 4 months old at the time, and he brought it home especially so I'd have it later. He loved JFK and always told me stories about him as I grew up - the foundation of my Democrat/liberal beliefs!

[Wapsie B]

221. My mind.

But I lose it sometimes.

*rimshot*

[Rising Phoenix]

222. my purple head with springy tounge... I love it

[Ladyhawk]

223. I have some mastodon ivory.

I also have some way cool fossilized shark teeth, some snake vertebrae, some cow vertebrae, a couple of bixon teeth and a large collection of parrot feathers from various species.